Ok, where do you get those benefits from? Someone needs to work on those, and they will also require benefits. If people don’t have to work, some portion will inevitably either not work or work hobby like jobs (that don’t usually produce very attractive benefits). So you have less things being produced and require more things to guarantee everyone’s needs and significant benefits for working peoples on top of that.
You seem to be under the impression that everything that’s being “produced” right now is of actual value and must be kept up or replaced under a non-capitalistic system. I’d argue the contrary. There is so much braindead wasted labor being performed and energy wasted in the current system that would be completely freed up if our main economic goal were to change from “growth and competition at all cost” to “ensure a good life for everyone”.
At the same time, our ever increasing ability to automate work and solar energy becoming incredibly cheap means that less and less of the necessary production actually requires human labor.
Add to that that most people like to have community and purpose, and would be happy to give back to a society that guarantees their wellbeing for rather modest reward, and I really don’t think finding enough people to do the actually necessary work would be a big issue at all. Kids that stock up their pocket money by mowing lawns are basically already making that exact deal.
Ok, as long as I don’t have to participate in this “utopia” of yours and can keep living as I do, go for it. Of course if you need to coerce others to participate, you may have lost the plot somewhere.
Well, then make those jobs come with benefits proportional to their unattractiveness
Ok, where do you get those benefits from? Someone needs to work on those, and they will also require benefits. If people don’t have to work, some portion will inevitably either not work or work hobby like jobs (that don’t usually produce very attractive benefits). So you have less things being produced and require more things to guarantee everyone’s needs and significant benefits for working peoples on top of that.
You seem to be under the impression that everything that’s being “produced” right now is of actual value and must be kept up or replaced under a non-capitalistic system. I’d argue the contrary. There is so much braindead wasted labor being performed and energy wasted in the current system that would be completely freed up if our main economic goal were to change from “growth and competition at all cost” to “ensure a good life for everyone”. At the same time, our ever increasing ability to automate work and solar energy becoming incredibly cheap means that less and less of the necessary production actually requires human labor.
Add to that that most people like to have community and purpose, and would be happy to give back to a society that guarantees their wellbeing for rather modest reward, and I really don’t think finding enough people to do the actually necessary work would be a big issue at all. Kids that stock up their pocket money by mowing lawns are basically already making that exact deal.
Ok, as long as I don’t have to participate in this “utopia” of yours and can keep living as I do, go for it. Of course if you need to coerce others to participate, you may have lost the plot somewhere.